Falling
by abandoned81409
Summary: Formerly titled "Now That She's Gone". Buffy fears that Faith will die after a near-fatal accident. Buffy/Faith. COMPLETE.
1. Prologue: Before

Prologue: Before...

Thursday, January 25th, 2001

I walk into the bathroom in search of my favorite earrings, only to find Faith already there, standing in front of the mirror as she applied her layers of mascara.

_God, she's so beautiful._

I slip my arms around her waist and she jumps a little.

_I guess she was so absorbed in putting on that make-up_ _that she didn't hear me come in._

"Hey, babe," she says.

She relaxes into my arms.

"Going somewhere, sweetie?" I ask.

"Yeah, actually."

She turns to me looking a little bit scared.

"Faith..."

"B...I got a call from Kenny. He and Mike want us to hook up with Josie tonight."

"What? Why? I thought tonight was gonna be a you-and-me night."

"It was, babe. And it still will be. It'll just be a little...later then first planned."

_Things had been like this for the last week. Plans were either cancelled completely or "postponed" constantly. And it was always by Faith. I kept wondering if I'd done something wrong._

So I ask.

"Did I do something?"

Her eyes widen in surprise.

"WHAT?! NO!! God, Buffy, no! You could never do something wrong. It's just...it's Josie's last night in town. She's been asked to be the head architect for some project in Florida. And she's gonna be down there for six months. Maybe even up to a year. Tonight's kind of like a final little going-away party for her. But they want it to just be our little group, y'know."

"I guess..."

"That's why I've been moving around our stuff all week. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, it's just...why didn't you tell me?"

"Buffy, I wanted to tell you but I thought you'd be mad. You're...not...mad. Are you?"

"No. I understand, sweetie. I know you and Josie are close."

"Yeah."

She grins.

She slips her arm around my waist and drew me closer, leaning in for a kiss. I cup Faith's cheek with her right hand and smile. She grins and me caress her cheek. It isn't often that we share such achingly romantic moments anymore.

_The kiss that followed the exchanged touches was a lot like the first kiss we'd shared. It's passionate and soft and leaves me -- and I think Faith too -- wanting more when it's over. My body is craving the most intimate contact it can have._

"Sorry," Faith says softly.

She kisses my cheek.

"You know I want you to come but...don't you have to study for your Geometry exam anyway?"

_Dammit! I forgot about that._

I rub at my forehead, feeling an instant headache coming on.

"I _really_ don't wanna study."

She smiles and focuses those big brown eyes on me.

_It's moments like these that I know she's looking straight into my soul. Even if she doesn't mean to, I know that's what she's doing. I do it too. I look straight into her._

"Faith..."

"Babe, I've gotta finish with my make-up, okay? I'll be done in a minute, all right?"

She turns away from me and looks in the mirror, picking up a tube of her favorite shade of lipstick.

"Okay," I reply belatedly, watching her apply the lipstick.

_She's so careful with this. The only thing she's more careful with is...me. When we make love._

I hear the sound of a car horn outside. Faith must hear it too because she quickly caps her lipstick tube and rushes past me.

_She's so hilarious! She pretends to be all calm when she's going out with those three but the moment they come to pick her up, she's a madwoman._

_That's what I love about her._

"B, have you seen my keys!"

_Knew that was coming._

I walk toward the front room, where Faith is undoubtedly searching frantically for her house keys.

_If she would just leave them in the key bowl in the foyer, like I've told her to a million times, she would never have this problem!_

"Sweetie, did you check your belt loops?"

I walk into the room just in time to see her running her hand blindly over the back of her pants, complaining about her head not craning enough to see "back there."

We hear the car horn again.

I find her keys under a magazine on the coffee table and hold them out to her.

"Here. You better go before Mike and Kenny have heart attacks. Just come home to me, okay? In one piece, please."

"I will, B. I swear to God I will," Faith whispers. "I love you."

"I love you too."

* * *

Saturday, January 27th, 2001

_And she left. Those were the last words she ever said to me. I never thought I wouldn't see her again that night. If I had known what was going to happen, I'd never have let her leave._


	2. Chapter 1: Saying Goodbye

Chapter 1: Saying Goodbye

Thursday, January 25th, 2001

(Faith's POV)

_Me, the guys, and Josie are hanging out at this club just outside of Sunnydale called Night Owl. Weird name, yeah, but it's a pretty cool scene anyway._

_Josie and I are sitting at the bar, sipping at some Cokes._

"I'm gonna miss you, Josie," I say.

My best friend twirls around and smiles at me.

"I'm gonna miss you too, Faith," she says. "A lot more than those bozos."

She jerks her thumb in the direction of Mike and Kenny, two of the guys who work with me on Xan-man's construction crew.

_Josie's an architect on Xander's crew. Me, Mike, and Kenny are just some of the "privileged" ones who get to lug around heavy material and use really big power tools._

_Nah, don't be fooled. I _do_ take my job pretty seriously. I've got to. B has a part time job, but she's still in school, and we need the money to pay rent on our apartment. Plus, her mom's been in and out of the hospital...It's not really money problems there. More like stress problems on all of us, but especially B and Dawnie._

"Don't lie," I tease. "You know you're gonna miss them. Mike especially."

Josie blushes.

_Josie and Mike have been a lot closer lately than they had been the last year and a half I'd known them. Kenny and I think we have a good idea of what had been going on, but nothing's been confirmed. Until now._

I grin like a Cheshire cat and feel a bit like B when I drag Josie over to a nearby couch and say:

"Spill."

_Josie seems to think it's weird too because she gets on me about it immediately._

"Whoa, Faith. Who knew you could be such a girl?"

"Buffy, apparently. She keeps telling me I can be really girly when I want to be," I say. "But seriously, details. Has there been any sex?"

"Y'know, that's what I love about you," Josie says. "The first thing out of your mouth whenever it comes to one of my relationships are 'has there been any sex?' How would you like it if I asked you how the sex with Buffy is?"

"I'd probably tell you about it, but with more detail than you'd want."

Josie rolls her eyes.

"Well, in answer to your question, yes. There's been...some sex."

I shake my head.

"And you're not gonna miss him at all?" I ask.

"Maybe. A little. But we never agreed that we were exclusive."

"Did you break up with him?"

"Not yet. I'm not gonna right now. Maybe we can try the long-distance thing for a little while, I don't know."

_Josie's always like this with her relationships. She can jump into one with a guy she likes, no problem. But when it comes to breaking up with them, she has serious problems. I swear she has a fear of breaking up with men._

"Faith! What time is your girl expecting you back?" Kenny asks.

I glance at my watch.

_It's almost eleven o'clock. Man, B's gonna be pissed!_

"Probably about twenty minutes ago. We had some plans tonight I had to reschedule and I said I'd be home kinda early."

"Then we better go," Josie says quietly.

_She looks so sad..._

"Josie. You know how much I love you," I say quietly. "But B and I...I can't break any promises to her or she will kick my butt."

"I understand," Josie says.

She grabs my arms and drags me out to the car.

* * *

_I guess we're all a little buzzed because we're all laughing over nothing._

_We're on our way back into town and the roads basically deserted. It's only one lane so we can't get past the slow driver in front of us._

_Josie's getting a little impatient. After I told them I had to be home, she decided to take advantage of the early bedtime and get some extra sleep before her flight in the morning. I want to feel bad for her because I know her temper is really short, but Kenny's laughter is totally contagious._

"Oh God..."

Josie pulls quickly over to the side.

"Josie, what the hell?"

"There's some guy coming up behind us. He's going kind of fast," Josie explains. "I was just trying to get out of their way before--"

The car in front of speeds up a bit and so does Josie, letting out a relieved sigh.

_Something's going to happen here. I can sense it. It's unusual, but I just know something bad is going to happen._

_I take out my cell phone, type out a text message as fast as I can, and hit send._

A loud crashing noise echoes through the car and we smash into the car in front of us.

Then, everything goes black.


	3. Chapter 2: Bad News

Chapter 2: Bad News

Thursday, January 25th, 2001

_Faith has been out for three hours. The apartment is eerily quiet. I studied for my exam for a while, but finally I gave up a while ago. My mind was in the past, remembering when Faith and I had moved into this place over the summer._

The phone rings.

_That's got to be Faith. I hope she's calling to say she'll be home soon. Or that she'll be out even later. If it's the latter, I'm totally ready to beat the crap out of her._

I walk into the front room and snatch up the phone off the coffee table.

"Hello?"

"_**Buffy Summers?"**_

"Speaking."

"_**This is Nurse Jones from Sunnydale Hospital. We have a Ms. Faith Lehane here. Her previous records indicate that you are the one to call if she is hospitalized again."**_

_Which reminds me..._

_Faith was hospitalized last year. She'd had a run-in with a vamp that got the better of her and broke her arm. We'd been fighting so she didn't have them call me. But I was worried and called her cell phone. The doctor was in the room at the time and asked me to come down there._

_I was upset with Faith for a while, for not calling me, but we sorted through things, and made up. But I made sure I was listed as the person to call should she be hospitalized again._

_But this time, I knew she hadn't been on patrol. And we hadn't been fighting._

_This was bad._

"Oh my God! Is she all right?"

"_**I think it would be best if you came to the hospital immediately."**_

_Totally didn't answer my question, but okay. I'm on my way._

"Be there in five minutes."

I hang up the phone, throw on a jacket, shove my keys into my jacket pocket, and run.

_If she's not already dead, I swear to God I will kill her._

* * *

_They won't let me into Faith's room immediately when I get to the hospital. But I see her through the window and I confirm that it's her._

_Nurse Jones, the one who called me here, tells me that she's in a coma. She says Faith will have to wake up on her own soon or risk cerebral damage. _

_My life is laying in a hospital bed, barely alive._

_Nurse Jones tells me that one of Faith's friends is in the next room. I go in an find Josie. She tells me that she has a broken arm, a fractured ankle, and I can see the huge scratch down the side of her face._

_I ask her to tell me what happened. She tells me, but there's lots of sobbing._

_They had gone to a club about a mile or two out of town. They were coming back in and the road was mostly deserted. They were laughing a lot, over pretty much nothing. There was one car ahead of them._

_Josie looked in the rearview mirror just in time to see a car speeding up behind them. They managed to get away from the guy for a minute or two when the driver in front of them sped up. But the person behind them sped up, crashed into them, and they crashed into the car in front of them. Their car flipped over, killing Mike and Kenny. Before she could get out of the way, the car had hit their car and they'd hit the car in front of them._

_All three cars went over the edge and into the stream below. The people in the car ahead of them were pronounced dead-on-arrival. Mike and Kenny were dead minutes later. Josie was the only one they expected to survive._

_I sat with her for a little while, holding her hand while she cried and trying to assure her that it was going to be okay. And that was hard to do since I didn't believe it myself._

"Ms. Summers? You can see Faith now, if you'd like to."

I look up and see the now-familiar face of Nurse Jones peering in at us from the doorway.

"Thanks," I say quietly. "I'll be there in a minute."

The nurse nods and leaves the room.

I turn to Josie.

"Are you gonna be okay?"

She smiles.

"Yeah. Go see her. I know you'd rather be there anyway."

"Josie..."

"Don't. Just...go."

"Fine. But...I just want you to know...I don't blame you. You tried to get out of the way, you tried to avoid it."

"Yeah..."

_She looks so miserable, even when she's faking a smile. I know how much she cares about my girl and I know she never wanted her or either of the guys to get hurt._

I squeeze Josie's hand once more, then leave the room. I walk down the hall and stop in front of Faith's room.

_She looks...dead._

I touch the window and look in on her for a moment before entering the room.

I pull a chair up beside Faith's bed and cover her hand with mine. I rub my hand over her fingers and stare blankly at her face. I feel tears run down my face and I have to force back a sob.

_Faith's hooked up to every kind of machine possible. And her face is so blank...I can hardly imagine it without some kind of expression, whether it be her usual smirk or that look she gets when she's thinking about her family._

"Sweetie...if you have to go...go now, while I'm still here with you...please."

The steady beep of the heart monitor continues in the background.

"Good girl," I say softly. "I love you and I promise you I'll fix this. I'll make you better. I'll...I'll find a way."

_I vowed to stay there until I was kicked out. But nobody ever came in. I stayed there for the better part of the night._

I take my cell phone out of my jeans pocket and turn it on to check my messages. A text message alert pops up. I push the view button and read the text message.

_Babe, I know this is gonna seem weird, but I think something bad is gonna happen to me. And I don't know if I'm gonna make it. I want you to know that I love you and I'm always gonna be with you. I hope I'll be around to tell you this in person. But if not, know that I love you, okay? --Faith._

I feel tears in my eyes again.

"I love you too, baby. More than anything in the world," I whisper.

I lean over her and press my lips gently against hers.

_And I can't help but hope -- stupidly, I guess -- that it will be like in "Sleeping Beauty." I'll kiss her and she'll wake up from her endless sleep. Faith will be with me and we'll live happily ever after._

* * *

Saturday, January 27th, 2001

_It's been two days since then and Faith still hasn't woken up. I keep wondering if she ever will._

_Willow and Tara have been keeping me company since Friday, when I spilled it to Willow between classes. She'd been asking me why I was so sad, so I just told her and Tara._

_But Willow's at the hospital right now, keeping a eye on Faith. I'm alone with Tara, crying in her arms. That's all I ever seem to do lately. That and remembering better times._

_Like the first time I kissed Faith..._


	4. Chapter 3: First Kiss

Chapter 3: First Kiss

--FLASHBACK--

Wednesday, February 10th, 1999

"C'mon, B! Dance with me!"

"Faith..."

Faith grabs my hand and tugs gently, trying to get me to come with her onto The Bronze's dance floor, where she's been dancing with random guys for the past half an hour.

But I refuse to move.

"Buffy..."

_Ooh! Calling me "Buffy," means serious business for her._

"Faith..." I mimic.

"B, we frickin' defeated Balthazar last night! Don't tell me you're not happy about that."

"Sure, Faith. I'm happy."

She frowns at me.

_Is it so difficult for her to understand that I _don't_ want to dance?_

Faith throws up her hands in frustration.

"I give up!" she exclaims, even more frustration evident in her voice.

"Sorry," I say.

_I mean it too. But she knows that. I can tell by the way she's looking at me._

"Are we okay?"

Faith puts her arm around my shoulders and pulls me close to her.

"We're five by five, Buffy," she says softly.

I turn my head and look into her eyes. She meets my eyes and smiles, causing my heart to jump into my throat.

_God, why did she have to do that? Now I want to say it!_

I open my mouth to speak.

"I...I..."

I clamp my mouth shut, choosing instead to reach up and cup her cheek in my right hand.

"B..."

"Shh. C'mere."

Faith inclines her head down toward me and I struggle to push myself upward to meet her halfway.

She laughs softly at my efforts.

_Bitch! Laughing at me..._

I shift my left hand from its place on her hip to the back of her neck and pull her face even closer to mine. Our lips are barely an inch apart now.

_Mm...Faith lips..._

I stifle a laugh at my own thoughts and meet Faith's eyes. She grins weakly and tentatively slides her arms around my waist. Her eyes are filled with uncertainty.

_Oh! Poor baby! I don't think she's ever done something like this..._

I smile and nod slightly to reassure her. She still looks nervous, so I say:

"Don't be scared. I want this as much as I'm thinking you do."

Her grip around me tightens just a bit possessively. We're now completely pressed together.

"Ready?"

Faith scoffs when I say that and leans forward, closing the gap between us...

_Oh...my...God!_

_Her lips are so soft and warm..._

_That's something I haven't done in a while: kissed a warm-blooded human._

My eyes slam shut as her tongue prods at my lips. I open my mouth and her tongue gently massages mine.

_I can feel her heart beating against my chest. It's beating to the same rhythm as mine, actually._

_We're the Chosen Two. Two Slayers in the same time. It's "unprecedented" as Giles would say. So in a way, the fact that our hearts beat together makes sense._

_And it kind of makes me feel like...we were meant to be._

_Maybe we were destined to meet and slay together and be friends and...well, maybe lovers someday._

Faith is the one that breaks the kiss, leaving me feeling cold without her mouth on mine.

_That was...incredible! It's so...different from kissing Angel. I should have thought it would be different. After all, Angel's dead, a vampire, and his lips are cold without any of his own blood flowing through him._

_But Faith is a warm-blooded, breathing human being. And I can sense she has a good heart. And she's definitely a very sexy human being..._

"B? Are you all right?"

Faith's arms are still around me and when I look up at her, I see concern etched in her expression.

"Yeah. I'm five by five," I tease her.

Faith grins and softly kisses my forehead. I smile at the feel of her warm lips on mine and let it soak through my body for a minute.

_I have a little bit of Faith inside me..._

"So...you want something to drink, Blondie?"

I shake my head. She tries to get up to get her own drink, but I hold her down.

"Hey, whoa! Lemme go, B!"

But I refuse to let her leave me and eventually she gives up and stays sitting, though muttering a few obscenities about me under her breath.

_Good thing I know she doesn't mean that stuff._

I rest my head against her chest and I feel her fingers move gently over the top of my head, as if she's petting a cat. I close my eyes and press my ear to her chest, listening carefully.

_There it is._

The sound of Faith's heartbeats send me off into dreamland.

--END FLASHBACK--

* * *

Saturday, January 27th, 2001

_And that's the only thing that's been able to put me to sleep ever since. That or her scent. I have to have one or the other at all times. But since she's been gone, I've discovered that her scent doesn't do it for me anymore, especially since it's already started to fade._


	5. Chapter 4: Prophetic Dream

Chapter 4: Prophetic Dream

Monday, January 29th, 2001

"Hey, sweetie," I say softly. "It's me. I know you're sleeping and I know you're healing, but I need to wake up. I miss you _so_ much."

I stroke her hair, which is already feeling dry from not being washed since she was admitted five days ago.

"I can't concentrate on _anything_ with you here," I say. "I want you at home. I want us to have that romantic dinner you promised me we'd have. I just...I wanna be able to hold you again."

I feel tears begin cascading down my cheeks.

"I love you, sweetheart. Please come back to me."

Then I'm sobbing, kissing her face all over. I kiss her softly on the lips, still just wishing that she would wake up and kiss me back.

"I feel like I'm falling, Faith," I say, a catch in my voice from all the crying I've been doing lately. "And I don't think I can get back up without you."

I kiss her again before leaning back in the chair, pulling my knees up to my chest and crying myself to sleep right there.

--DREAM--

"B...? Buffy? Babe, open your eyes."

_It can't be. She's in a coma. She can't be awake..._

_God, I hope she's awake!_

I open my eyes and see white. Everything is white. But there's no hospital bed, no beeping machines, only a queen-sized bed covered in blood red sheets and a comforter.

I smile. I love the way my girl thinks.

"Faithy, where are you?" I ask, looking around the room.

Strong arms wrap around my waist and I fall back against the curvy body behind mine. She kisses my neck and her crotch grinds against my butt. I want to start crying again.

I turn around and meet her eyes.

_God, she looks so beautiful._

"Did you bring us here?" I ask her softly.

She shakes her head.

"No. I think...I might be waking up soon," Faith says. "You must be the one who brought us here. You really miss me, don't you?"

I nod.

"I love you," she whispers. "And I know you miss me a lot."

"I really, _really_ do," I say earnestly.

Faith smiles, leans in and kisses me.

_This is one of the things I missed most. Her lips are so soft, so warm...and they always taste like mints, because of that stupid habit she picked up to help her stop smoking. But I don't mind. It's _definitely _better than tasting smoke on her all the time. It used to make me want to cough up a lung._

"Will you wake up for me?" I ask her.

Faith nods.

"Yeah," she whispers. "I didn't want this to happen to begin with, B. I love you too much to leave you. And I don't wanna die."

"Then you _have to_ wake up. The doctors told me that the longer you're...asleep, the more likely it is that you'll have brain damage."

"You have to be there for me, Buffy."

"I _am_! Constantly!"

"Hey, hey, hey. I didn't mean it like that. I know you're there for me," she says softly. "But you're weak right now because you're sad. I need you to be strong for me. No one wants to wake up to the one they love thinking they're gonna die. You have to have hope for me, okay?"

I nod and kiss her again.

_She's right. I've been a mess since the accident. I've got to be there for her. Willow and Tara keep telling me I need to believe that she'll get better, but I couldn't. I was so convinced she wouldn't come back to me, that she felt like she _couldn't _come back._

"I'll be strong," I promise her, stroking her cheeks. "As long as you promise you'll be you and you'll wake up and be alive again."

"I promise," she whispers. "I'd do anything for you, B, and you know it."

"I know."

She grins and kisses my nose.

"So, uh, what's with the bed?" Faith asks.

"I don't know. I thought _you_ were the one who brought us here until a few minutes ago. But I can guess..."

"Don't think it'll be as good in a dream as it would in real life."

"Maybe it's just to cuddle, you pervert," I tease her.

She blushes.

"Right," she mutters. "I knew that."

_I love it when she blushes. It shows me she's not all "bad girl" like she wants everyone to think. It's nice to be reminded of that._

"It's okay. Come lay down with me."

"Yeah, all right. Jeez, B..."

"Oh, don't act like you don't want to. You're more of a cuddler than I am, sweetie."

_We stay in that bed for the longest time. Faith cries in my arms when I tell her about Mike and Kenny. I tell her that Josie's alive. She's worse off than Faith is, but she's going to make it._

_I feel so horrible for Faith. Mike, Kenny, and Josie were like_ her _Scoobies. Sure, she's friends with Willow and Xander and Giles and all of my friends, but she loved these people a lot. Losing them must be killing her._

"I'm sorry, sweetie," I whisper. "You know you can talk to me if you want to."

"I know, B. But right now...you need to wake up."

_I swear to God my heart just about stopped when she said that. It was so nice in this place. I could just hold her like I'd wanted to since she was put in the hospital. I could kiss her and love her and just talk to her._

"I will if you will."

Faith smiles.

"I wanna spend the rest of my life with you, Faith Lehane."

"I wanna spend the rest of _my_ life with _you_, Buffy Summers."

"Well, maybe it's just me, but I think you need to be awake to do that."

"I'll wake up," Faith assures me.

We kiss for a long minute, neither of us wanting to let go, though we know our time is running low.

"I love you," Faith says.

"I love you too," I whisper.

Then the white room, the red bed, and everything else there disappears.

--END DREAM--

I wake up sprawled in the same chair I fell asleep in. I stand up and hurry over to Faith's bedside.

_You better wake up. You promised me, Faithy. Time to wake up!_

I take her hand in mine and kiss it. Her fingers curl around my hand and my heart rate accelerates to an impossible pace.

_She's waking up!_

"B..."

Her voice is huskier than usual from lack of use, but it still makes me want to jump on her.

_I better get a nurse!_

"Yeah, sweetie, it's me. I'll be right back! You stay awake, you hear me?"

She almost laughs, but it comes out as more of a cough.

"I will, babe," she says. "I promise."

With those words said, I hurry out of the room and head toward the nearest nurses' station. I want to take my girl home as soon as I can.


	6. Chapter 5: Home Again

Chapter 5: Home Again

Tuesday, January 30th, 2001

_So after Faith woke up, I got the doctor to check her out. He seemed a little surprised she'd woken up, but he was very professional. She checked out positively so they removed the feeding and hydration tubes, but he asked her to at least finish out the night there and she agreed._

_They kicked me out after midnight when I took out my cell phone in the room. I left to go patrolling and called Willow after a few vampire attacks. She wasn't too thrilled with being woken up at nearly one in the morning, but when I told her Faith had woken up, she was very happy for me._

_I didn't sleep at all that night. I patrolled until the sun came up then went to my mom's house. It's closer to the hospital and I got to tell Mom the good news when she woke up. Of course, I'd been in the house for an hour and a half before she came downstairs and had gotten myself really worked up just thinking of bringing Faith home. I'd missed her so much!_

_Mom managed to calm me down. She told me I should probably go home and get Faith some clothes. She invited us to dinner tonight just before I left and I agreed that we'd come. It'd be nice. I know Mom's been worried about Faith too._

_So I ran home and got Faith some sweats to wear out of the hospital. I knew she wouldn't be too happy with it, but if I were her and had been in a coma for almost five days, I'd want to go straight home and shower._

"Miss Summers? You can go see Miss Lehane now if you'd like."

_Of course, I'd like!_

I nod at the doctor and have to force myself to walk into Faith's room.

"Hey, you."

Faith looks over at me and grins. She's sitting up in bed and eating one of those crappy hospital breakfasts.

"Hey, Buffy."

I set the bag with her clothes on a chair and move closer to the side of her bed,

"Ready to go home?" I ask.

She nods.

"Totally. But...is it okay if we see Josie first?" she asks.

_Okay...wasn't expecting that. But I know I should've been._

"Of course, sweetie," I say softly. "You know you don't even have to ask."

_Not true but...whatever._

"Thanks, honey," Faith says, smiling. "Um..."

_Come on. If you want say something, say it for Christ's sake!_

"Faith...?" I prompt her.

She takes a deep breath.

_That can't be good._

"Do you remember the dream we shared?"

"Yeah..."

_Where's she going with this, Buffy?_

"Mike and Kenny...are they...are they really gone?" Faith asks.

Her eyes are filled with tears and her voice is shaking.

_Oh, God._

"Yes. I'm so sorry, Faith. They're really gone," I whisper. "I'm sorry, Faithy."

_Oh, God, no. No, no, no, no, no. I hate seeing her cry._

I move her tray of half-eaten food and put her arms around her.

"Shh...shh. I'm here," I whisper, as Faith sobs into my shoulder.

"Everything's gonna be okay," I say. "I promise."

:

_Faith visits with Josie for a while. They talk a little and cry even more. Faith promises to visit Josie tomorrow and then we leave._

_So we're finally on our way home. We had to walk since Faith won't let me use her car or let me have my own. And I can't stop worrying that Faith's legs will give out and she'll fall, so we're walking kind of slowly. Faith looks like she's running out of patience. I know she doesn't like being coddled, but she'd been in a coma..._

"Ah!"

I feel myself suddenly being lifted off my feet by my pissed off girlfriend.

"Faith!" I protest.

"Shh. Quiet, B. We're almost home. And don't do your poutin' thing cause it's not gonna work on me right now."

_Damn. She knows me too well._

"Fine."

I cross my arms and let her carry me the rest of the way home.

I lean my head against her chest and listen carefully.

_There it is. God, I love that sound. It always reminds me of our first kiss._

I hear Faith chuckle.

"What?" I ask.

"Nothing. It's just...I love you so much, you weirdo."

I smile and grab the collar of her shirt.

"I love you too, coma-girl," I whisper. "And I expect lots of lovin' when we get home. I missed out on nearly a week of my Faith smoochies."

"You got it, B," Faith assured me. "I missed you too."

_Good. I wasn't sure..._

_Don't say that!_

"B? Beeee? We're home."

Faith sets me on the porch of our small home and puts her arms around my waist.

"Faith..."

"C'mon, honey, gotta christen this place again," she says softly.

_A weird little tradition we've done since we bought the house at the beginning of the year is that we "christen" the place whenever one of us or both of us is gone for an extended period of time. Meaning more than one day. It's special to us, but it's really just another excuse to make out. It's strange, but it's our thing, you know?_

Faith presses her lips against mine. It's short, but amazing as always.

She breaks the kiss and I rest my forehead against hers.

"I love you," I whisper.

"I love you too," Faith whispers back.

"Good," I say.

I move my head back and put my arms around her neck.

"Now go inside and get in the shower. I wanna spend some time with my beautiful, _clean_ girlfriend."

"All right."

Faith leans in, pecks me on the lips, somehow managing to slide my keys out of my pocket without me noticing. She dangles them in front of my face when she moves away from me.

"Not exactly a _good_ skill to have there, sweetie," I tell her.

She just shrugs and unlocks the door.

I smile to myself and let it all sink in again.

_I'm so glad she's back!_

I walk into our little house and close the fornt door.

"Buffy!" Faith calls from the bathroom. "I'm waiting."

I hear the water turn on and dash into the bedroom.

_I'm _so_ glad she's back!_


	7. Epilogue: Almost Better

Epilogue: Almost Better

(Faith's POV)

_Well, it's been about a month since I got out of the hospital. B's been pampering me, even though I'm totally fine. I was only in the coma for five days. It's Josie I'm worried about, not me._

_B took me to both Mike and Kenny's funerals. It will be really hard for me to accept that they're gone -- they were like my own Scoobies -- but I'm getting there. I got to say goodbye officially so I'm getting better._

_B and I had that romantic dinner she'd been wanting right before she went back to school -- she'd taken a two week vacation. But it didn't stick for long. B's mom has a brain tumor and is really sick. B's considering withdrawing and going next semester, when Mrs. S is better. We only kind of half-live at our own apartment now, not that I mind. I care about Mrs. S and Dawnie too, after all._

_But today's been an easy day; Mrs. S's surgery is in a few days so B and I decided to take advantage of the free time we have together. She even suggested we invite Josie over, but Josie's been staying with her sister and wasn't _allowed_ to come over. It's like I'm a damn teenager again! I can't even see my best friend._

"Faith?"

"Hm? What is it, honey?"

"What're you thinking about?"

_Good question. Better one: What am I _not_ thinking about? There's a lot of stuff going on to keep my mind occupied, that's for sure._

"Everything, Buffy. Everything."

B looks up at me and I try to smile assuringly, act like nothing's wrong.

_She needs that right now._

"I love you, Faith," B whispers, tears shining in those beautiful hazel eyes.

"I know, honey. I love you too. Please don't cry," I whisper back.

B starts to cry and I know I can't stop it. So I gather her in my arms and hold her tight.

_We stay like that for the longest time, me holding her and rocking her, trying to be her strength when she needs it. I'll always be with her; nothing can keep me away._

"I'm here, Buffy," I promise her. "I'm always here. I love you so much. You know that right?"

Buffy nods through her sobs against my chest.

_That gives me this nice, warm feeling in my belly as I hold her in my arms._

_I know that things aren't perfect between us; they never were. And I know the effect on both of us from my accident hasn't been erased and isn't completely healed. But it's getting there. It's almost better and we'll work together to get to "all better"._

_Just me and B._

The End.


End file.
